My CV Photo credit: leftratio

A CV is... a reflection of your work experience, educational background and skills your personal marketing tool mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: leftratio

Why a CV? To get a job interview To structure the interview process To remind the employer of you To justify a hiring decision to others mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: pennstatelive

Before you start... Why am I compiling this CV? How can I target my CV? What should I include in my CV? How should I present my CV? mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: jakeandlindsay

Contact information Skills Experience Education CV content mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: L Hollis Photography

are comfortable to read focus on your positive contributions show what you know and can do describe your accomplishments are neat are free of grammar and spelling mistakes show your interest in and enthusiasm for a specific position and organisation Effective CVs... mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: vernieman

Ineffective CVs... are cluttered and too lengthy contain irrelevant personal and other information contain incorrect contact details are decorated with borders and irrelevant images are clearly bulk mail efforts and not targeted for a specific position and organisation mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: o5com

Never... lie on your CV mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: Mr Wabu

Power of keywords Use keywords to make sure that your CV is aligned to the requirements of a position Analyse job ads for key skills and experience needed Analyse organisational documents for further keywords mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: Bohman

Getting started List 3 things you are proud of and give an example of each Brainstorm your major accomplishments - quantify your achievements where possible Write a bumper sticker about yourself that reflects the one thing that is most important about yourself mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: jakeandlindsay

my Getting started Identify 3 skills desired in one of the fields you are interested in and write down how you already have developed these skills Think about what others come to you for help and advice mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: jakeandlindsay

Getting started Create an outline with headings that you will use in your CV Just write down (or type) what you can think of for each heading (don't think about this) Now polish your CV mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: jakeandlindsay

Contact information CV content mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: MJ/TR

Organise the information according to the impact you want to make List work experience and educational background in reverse chronological order (start with the most recent) List action words to describe your contribution to an organisation Organising content Education Completed Bachelor of Commerce (University of South Africa, ) Majors: Economics and Financial Accounting Managing personal finances for others (Institute for Personal Financial Management, October 2009) Incomplete Honours BCom in Economics (University of Pretoria, 2012) Expected completion: November 2013 Example Experience Full-time employment Project manager (FinBank, August 2011 to date) Manage risk assessment project for treasury department Project officer (FinBank, June July 2011) Compile budget reports for project manager in Risk department Volunteer work Fundraiser (Hope for Humanity, January 2008 to date) Raise funds from the private sector for various projects related to this NGO Example mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development

Think of any experiences to identify your skills Your skills mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: iwaitaly

volunteer work community activities (for example, sport, social clubs, church) self-employment activities study-related activities (assignments, specific modules, student organisations) I have no work experience... mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: iwaitaly

volunteer work community activities (for example, sport, social clubs, church) self-employment activities study-related activities (assignments, specific modules, student organisations) I have no work experience... mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: RISD Museum

Think about how you can communicate your achievements Mention accomplishments for each experience you list Quantify your accomplishments where possible I am awesome... mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: Dani P.L.

Use a "clean" design to focus on what you have to say Save your CV as a.pdf file before you upload/ the CV. Design mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: anniki*

Post your CV on-line on one of the many job search platforms available Pay attention to guidelines on each site to design your CV optimally Applying on-line mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development

Some resources mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development

Depending on the type of jobs you wish to apply for and the organisation, you could think of more creative ways to present your CV... presumé video infographic CV LinkedIn profile Beyond the obvious... mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development Photo credit: try.gs Photo credit: Keith Ross ( Photo credit: Mike Dunn

Explore more... Visit our website at for more career- and study related resources Talk to us... Ask a counsellor: bit.ly/askcounsellorbit.ly/askcounsellor Skype: unisacareers You may distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon this work, as long as the original creation is credited mycv Unisa Counselling and Career Development

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